‘I want to congratulate Argentina for their win tonight. As a team, we made some crucial mistakes and they made better use of their opportunities than we did,’ said Coetzee. ‘Although we lost Ruan and Elton because of injuries, we managed to come back in the second half. However, I am disappointed by the many individual mistakes that we committed.

‘We had enough opportunities to create scoreboard pressure, but we did not take them. At Test level, you must take your opportunities or you will get punished. We missed some penalties and also didn’t score tries when we were in a position to do so.

‘Credit to Argentina because they really worked for their victory. The defeat is hurting and the Springboks will never be satisfied with a loss. We will regroup and work hard to improve as a team so that we can be ready for the next Test against Australia in Brisbane.’

The Boks arrive back in the country on Monday morning. The squad for the Australian leg of the campaign will be announced on Tuesday, and will travel to Brisbane on Thursday. The Boks play the Wallabies on 10 September and the All Blacks a week later in Christchurch.

Meanwhile Sanzaar confirmed that Bok flank Oupa Mohoje was issued with a citing commissioner warning for a dangerous tackle after the match in Salta, which will count as a yellow card on the players’ record for the tournament.